The Bridges Smell Like Chocolate

I Love Good Covers of Great Songs: The Wind

2007-08-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

I love covers of songs, and I especially love covers of songs that I love. I thought I'd introduce this new feature with one of my favourite songs: The Wind - Cat Stevens.

Monday Links

2007-08-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

FBI withholds evidence; keeps innocent men in prison for 30+ years (CNN)

iPod Pollution

J.K. Rowling Working On Crime Novel

IGIF wrote a great article on the feud between John Lennon and Paul McCartney

YANP posted a great video of Beck's "Clap Hands"

Bear Force One

2007-08-19T12:53:00.000-07:00

I have no words to describe this.

Live Showterdays

2007-08-18T14:21:00.000-07:00

I leave for school on Monday, and I'm not going to get into Ohio until Friday night, so I have a long trip ahead of me. I'm flying up to Seattle to stay with a friend of mine, and then I'm going to drive across the country with him. Right now, I'm packing all my clothes into two suitcases, and then I have to make a 36 hour play list to keep us entertained while we're driving. As such, posts might be few and far between, between now and then, but I'll try keep the updates rolling along.

I thought I would try to concentrate on one of my favourite bands: the Kinks. Check it out.

[mp3] The Honeydogs - Picture Book (01-03-1997)

[mp3] The Big Wu - Picture Book (10-07-2005)

[mp3] The Radiators - You Really Got Me (12-17-2005)

[mp3] moe - You Really Got Me (05-22-1999)

[mp3] Marbles & Piracies - Lola (2006-03-10)

[mp3] Elliott Smith - Waterloo Sunset (04-14-1997)

[mp3] Robyn Hitchcock - Waterloo Sunset (07-01-2007)

In Memoriam: Max Roach

2007-08-16T17:31:00.000-07:00

I grew up living and breathing jazz. To see Max Roach pass away is another one of those sad days for the jazz world. A lot of the greats are gone, and of the few who remain, their old and withering. The young jazz players of today are few and far between, but they're out there (Brad Mehldau). The sad thing is to hear people talk about jazz, and think about Kenny G. For those that knew of Max Roach, well, kudos!

Others can write better obituaries than I can:

Max Roach - via Reuters

Max Roach - via AP

Max Roach - via New York Times

[mp3] Max Roach & Clifford Brown - Variation

The Cave Singers

2007-08-15T00:29:00.000-07:00

Imagine if Bob Dylan and Nick Drake, vocally, were smashed together. Maybe throw in a sprinkle of Johnny Cash. They play basic folk music, but, with some obvious punk influences. However, if this album had been released in 1962, you might not know any better.

According to Matador Records, their label, the Cave Singers, "never listened to much folk music, they never intended to play folk music, and more importantly, their guitarist never picked up the instrument until recently." Despite all of this, they're playing folk music that is complex and intriguing, and fun to listen to. Sure, it sounds like Bob Dylan, or a mosquito buzzing in your ear. "Seeds of Night", has this rolling rhythm that maintains the songs tempo, all while Bob Dylan+Nick Drake+Johnny Cash+Mosquito is singing. The singer is actually Pete Quirk. The drummer, who keeps the shuffle/stomp rhythm is Marty Lund, and it sounds more like a car driver beating his thighs with his hands. The guitarist who plays melodies instead of chords, reminiscent of Nick Drake or Tim Seely, is Derek Fudesco. Together, Lund, Quirk and Fudesco form The Cave Singers, who cite their major influences as The Pixies, Fleetwood Mac, and the Replacements, but sound nothing like any of them. All the while, writing their own music that's hypnotizing and easy to listen to.

Their debut album is called Invitation Songs and is going to be released September 25th, 2007. I've only heard Seeds of Night, but, I'm excited for the rest of the album, because if it follows the trend of the first song, it will be amazing. Along with the release of their album, they'll be touring the US throughout September and October. Check out their tour dates on their myspace.

[mp3] The Cave Singers - Seeds of Nights

< - - - The Cave Singers - - - >
Matador Records | Myspace

Brightblack Morning Light

2007-08-14T16:36:00.000-07:00

Brightblack Morning Light is a band out of New Mexico. They've toured with Will Oldham, aka, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy. It's sort of a mix between psychedelic music and folk rolk, featuring bluesy guitar chords, and drugged-up atmospherics, all while being played in slow motion. The featured song sounds like an opening to a movie, full of black and white landscape shots.

Blackbright Morning Light is the project of Rachel Hughes and Nathan Shineywater. (who has one of the best last names) One of their albums was created entirely under the moon and stars, when both Hughes and Shineywater lived in a tent. They contemplated the idea that people spend half their lives underneath light bulbs, and spent some time living underneath the stars.

[mp3] Blackbright Morning Light - Everybody Daylight

<- - -Black Bright Morning Light - - - >
Band Website | Matador Records | Buy LP

Monday Links

2007-08-13T19:33:00.000-07:00

R. Kelly has finally started to release the next section of Trapped In The Closet. IFC has teamed up with Kelly to release Chapters 13-22. The 10 new chapters are released over the next 10 days. Chapter 13 came out today. It's not nearly as epic as Chapters 1-12, but perhaps we won't get into the real "oh shits" until Wednesday or Thursday.

The Rawking Refuses to Stop! posted a great article about the Beatles Rooftop Concert.

Aquarium Drunkard posted the videos and pictures from John Vanderslice's LA River Basin concert. It was a concert I really tried to get to, but didn't have time, unfortunately.

Potential Vaccine (not really a vaccine as it doesn't cure, but does treat the condition) for Multiple Sclerosis in the works (via MSNBC)

O.J. Simpson's "If I Did It" is getting published (via AP)

The Next Babe Ruth? (MSNBC)

It Gives You Wings, Bitch!

2007-08-12T10:23:00.001-07:00

A funny spoof commercial for Red Bull:

Live Showterdays

2007-08-11T11:48:00.000-07:00

[mp3] Ryan Adams - Like A Virgin (11/20/2002)
Ryan Adam's cover of Like A Virgin is simply hilarious. He makes up most of his own lyrics, but keeps the chorus. The verses about mostly nonsense, and have nothing to do with Madonna's original lyrics.

[mp3] The Band Cover Band Band - King Harvest (Has Surely Come) (05/20/06)
The Band Cover Band Band has a great name. They also only cover one of my favourite bands ever: The Band. Although there's no Robbie Robertson, it's still a band playing The Band.

[mp3] And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (03/28/06)
I'm not sure that this could have a longer title. More importantly, if you can't tell already, I love The Band. ...Trail Of Dead does a great job of covering The Band combining the Southern Rock with their own Indie Rock roots.

Somebody Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

2007-08-10T17:39:00.000-07:00

Somebody Still Loves Boris Yeltsin went nuts on the blog scene a year or so ago. They deserved it; Broom was really good. They sorta came out of nowhere, and they are super low tech. Not in the musical sense, the music is great. They're low tech in that their website doesn't have flash, doesn't have any sort of "wow" graphics. It doesn't have a lot of information about the band. In order to find out anything about them you have to go to their record label's website. Even then, you won't find much. You will find out that they're from Missouri, they got super popular thanks to the internet blog scene, though beforehand they couldn't tell you the name of a single blog. It will tell you about the success of Broom, which was recently re-released on Polyvinyl Records, and it will sell you their CDs, and you should buy them, because they're great. But obviously, everyone's already heard about them, read these press releases:

From Pitchfork: "...damn if their pop chops aren't convincing... Naysayers unimpressed with crisp choruses and expert bridges might doom Broom's makers to a subcult-status alongside Western Keys or Home, but something more ambitious is afoot: The songs are fetching ciphers, stowaways on an indie pop mothership, benchwarmers on a charm offense, etc."

From 30-Music: "Quite possibly the greatest pop record of this year past...[Broom] is a relic, a map to music left behind and uncharted, brief sketches of past histories pulling together and forever telling a different tale."

It's hard after hearing that to not one to listen to them, especially if everyone is completely gushing over SSLYBY. With that, I present to you:

[mp3] Somebody Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Half Awake (Deb)
[mp3] Somebody Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Big City
[mp3] Somebody Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Oregon Girl (highly recommended)

< - - Somebody Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - - >
Website | Polyvinyl Records

Comedy Thursdays: Mitch Hedberg

2007-08-09T17:59:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard of Mitch Hedberg, skip everything I write here and just watch the video.

If you have heard of Mitch Hedberg, you're probably not going to read what I write here, and just watch the video.

Regardless, Mitch Hedberg is incredible. He's entire routine is based mostly on non sequitur and one line jokes. However, his delivery is so unusual that it actually makes everything he says funny, including "I used to drugs. I still do, but I used to too". It's definitely absurdist humour, but that makes it better, not worse. Hedberg is unlike any comedian I've heard, mostly because of his varied pronunciations on words, his abrubt style of delivery, and his quirky stage presence. He tends to perform with his hair in his face, sometimes upstage, with his eyes closed, and sometimes with his back facing the audience. He apparently had a severe case of stage fright that led to these traits, and but they only add to his persona, and he frequently makes jokes about this.

He has released two CDs: Strategic Grill Locations, and Mitch All Together. The audio quality is much better on Mitch All Together, and if you can only purchase one, purchase the latter, but they're both great, and a lot of jokes are different between the two.

Watch the video:

Watch more videos

Throw Me The Statue

2007-08-08T17:38:00.000-07:00

These one man, record all the tracks at home bands have really got it going on.

Throw Me The Statue is one of them.

Hailing from Seattle, the land of musical ingenuity and creation, comes Throw Me The Statue: the project of Scott Reitherman. His newly released album Moonbeams appeals to people who listen to all different genres. (Well, maybe not reggaeton, but, oh well). Some of the songs are upbeat and pop-y, some are reflective and are on the slow side. Some contain intricate rhythms capped with exciting lyrics, while some are more mellow but continue to emphasize the lyrics. Reitherman's voice isn't horribly overpowering, but still sounds sweet and smooth over his generally jovial tracks. The songs continuously get more complex, and add exciting counter melodies, and various instruments on top of the basic tracks laid down. It's definitely worth listening to.

Throw Me The Statue is signed to Baskerville Hill Records, which is also home to Black Bear and Husbands, love your wives. Baskerville Hill is based in Seattle, a fertile ground for all small record labels, but by signing Throw Me the Statue, they're definitely ahead of the curve.

Go ahead: Give it a listen.

[mp3] Throw Me The Statue - Lolita
[mp3] Throw Me The Statue - Conquering Kids
[mp3] Throw Me The Statue - Yucatan Gold

< - - Throw Me The Statue - - >
Baskerville Hill | Myspace | Buy Moonbeams

How The West Was Sung

2007-08-07T18:34:00.001-07:00

One of my favourite finds so far this year/summer are the Broken West? (Is the Broken West?). I love Down in the Valley, and I love So It Goes. (I also love Kurt Vonnegut)

The Broken West was formed in 2004 as "The Brokedown", but then were forced to change their name because of a punk band out of Chicago with the same name that sued them. Recently the band signed the Merge Records, which is super exciting, because Merge is also home to popular bands like Spoon, The Arcade Fire, and last (and certainly least) Dinosaur Jr. With the contract with Merge, The Broken West released "I Can't Go On, I'll Go On" which is definitely one of my favourite albums so far this year (behind Ga^5, New Moon, etc.)

If you're lucky enough to live in Los Angeles (which I do, thankfully), they're playing at the Roxy on September 7, and they're also playing at the Sunset Junction Street Festival on August 18th. They'll be on the Bates Stage (4200 Sunset) at 4:10 pm. Also playing that day are SeaWolf (at 5:05), Autolux (at 6:05) and Ben Harper (at 9:20). Tickets are $12, and $15 the day of, but it'll be worth it for one day to see those three (or four if you stay until 10) bands.

[mp3] The Broken West - My Love Is True
[mp3] The Broken West - Sparks

< - - The Broken West - - >
Myspace | Website | Buy I Can't Go On, I'll Go On | Merge Records

Monday Links

2007-08-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

Hello Kitty Cops!!! (Yahoo News)

Coffee Helps Memory (Yahoo News)

The Real Harry Potter (MSNBC)

Food in McDonalds Wrapper Tastes Better (CNN)

ECEU put together a great August Mix (ECEU)

Sensory Organ Holds Key To Hot Mouse Sex (MSNBC)

Armless, One Legged Driver Sent to Prison (MSNBC)

YouTube Sunday

2007-08-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

This is one of the silliest covers I've ever heard. This is also one of the silliest music videos I've seen. I just find it weird that someone choose to use an Iron & Wine song about cremation and death, but then just have a weird story about love.

Sachal Vasandani: Naked As We Came (Iron & Wine Cover)

Live Showterdays

2007-08-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

Saturdays I'm going to dedicate to promoting music from Live Shows. I'm always a big fan of covers, so the majority of the songs will be covers, however, if there's a particularly good version of a song I like, it might show up too.

[mp3] Spoon - Johnathan Fisk/Goodnight (2003-07-08)
Spoon played this song to close a show in July 2003. Johnathan Fisk happens to be one of my favourite songs, but the addition of a cover of The Beatles' 'Goodnight' just makes it all the better.

[mp3] Apollo Sunshine - Helter Skelter (2006-03-05)

Apollo Sunshine met at Berklee School of Music (A college that I wanted to go to for a long time). They're one of those bands that is much better live than they are on their CDs, however, their CDs are still good. "I Was On The Moon" is one of my favourite songs. This is another Beatles cover, and one of my favourite Beatles songs.

[mp3] Josh Ritter - Harrisburg (2007-02-11)

Josh Ritter has developed more and more of a following recently, and I have to say I'm one of them. I knew about him a couple years ago, and had a couple his songs, some of which I loved, and some of which I didn't at all. The Animal Years is the album that got everyone talking about him, and I really can't tell you how excited I am about "The History Conquests of Josh Ritter". Harrisburg, off of "Golden Age of Radio" is one of the few songs that I did like in the beginning.

[mp3] Maroon 5 - Highway To Hell (2004-08-21)

Seriously? Who allowed this to happen? Who allowed Maroon 5 to cover Highway To Hell (AC/DC). Even if the girly voiced Adam Levine isn't singing, it doesn't make it much better.

[mp3] The Mountain Goats - The Boys Are Back In Town / Ignition (2007-03-08)
[mp3] The Mountain Goats - The Boys Are Back In Town / Ignition (via bpfastball.com)

This is probably one of my favourite covers of all time. There's nothing like a complete switch from Thin Lizzy, straight into R. Kelly. The first is a live version with Pony Up! backing up The Mountain Goats. The second is an acoustic version that's a little easier on the ears. Give it a spin.

The Broken String

2007-08-03T08:46:00.000-07:00

I can't say that I wasn't excited about The Broken String, the new album from Bishop Allen. Although I was a big fan of the EP project, I didn't really like that many songs on the EPs. The idea of having a full studio length album excited me, to say the least, because I believed that more production would create a fabulous album, and, I don't think I was wrong about that.

The Broken String is fabulous. Go buy it. I do hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

(My apologies for the short post today; I'm running off to work, and wanted to get something posted in the morning.)

[mp3] Bishop Allen - Click Click Click Click
[mp3] Bishop Allen - Rain

(Bishop Allen)
Official Site | Myspace Page | More mp3s | Buy The Broken String

Comedy Thursdays: Zach Galifianakis

2007-08-02T00:08:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd dedicate Thursdays to Comedy. Stand up comedy is one of the things I truly enjoy when I'm not listening to music. With good comics, it's usually clever, usually funny, and very enjoyable.

Zach Galifianakis is hilarious. He used to have a TV show on VH1 called "The Late World with Zach", but it got canceled because there weren't enough viewers. He hasn't been horribly successful until recently, but, he's really talented. He's one of those non-sequitur comics (almost on the line of Mitch Hedberg) that sometimes doesn't even finish sentences, because the rest of it isn't important to the joke. Sometimes he changes topics randomly, and sometimes he throws in random ridiculous one liners that are hilarious. He recently released a DVD of his work: Live at the Purple Onion. The DVD not only includes some of his live set, but a hilarious interview with Seth Galifianakis (played by Zach).

The silliest thing is this. Imagine a TV show on FOX where a young 20s attractive woman works in a morgue. (Funny, already!) She discovers a power where the dead people in the morgue ask her to save them. She is suddenly transported back in time to the previous day, and has to discover who these dead people are and try to prevent them from dying, while at the same time trying to keep her power a secret from everyone. The two people in the entire world who know of her abilities are her brother Harrison, and the Chief of the Morgue, played by none other than Zach Galifianakis. It's just silly to imagine a person who never seems to be serious about anything and who has such a lackadaisical view of the world play a totally serious confidante/chief of a morgue.

Anyways...I hope you enjoy:

Kelley Stoltz

2007-08-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

I think I'm partial to bands and artists from California. I think I'm also partial to anyone signed to Sub Pop.

Kelley Stoltz is another one of those home recorders who plays a whole bunch of different instruments. There are plenty of those these days, but, he's actually really good.

The first record he finished, Antique Glow, was completed in 2001, but Stoltz was lacking a label, so he went out and pressed a couple hundred vinyl records of the album, and did the artwork himself, and sold them around San Francisco, his home town. It eventually caught on in Australia of all places, and Stoltz toured for a while down under. Finally, in 2003, Stoltz released his album in CD form in the USA. It eventually caught on, and luckily he was signed to Sub Pop.

Stoltz classifies his music as "improvisational-pop" which is an interesting term, but I guess it fits. It has a lot of indie rock tones, with some mixed in pop sounds covered up by a lot of experimentation. He has a lot of talent, and definitely deserves some airplay.

[mp3] Kelley Stoltz - The Sun Comes Through(via Sub Pop Records)
[mp3] Kelley Stoltz - Memory Collector (via Sub Pop Records)

(Kelley Stoltz)
Official Site | Myspace Site | More MP3s

Over and Over and Over and Over

2007-07-31T16:49:00.000-07:00

I think now is probably a good time to let you all in on one of my favourite bands ever. This is a band that had a few members graduate from the same high school that I went to, and are still friends with english teacher from my Senior year in high school. They make incredible summer driving music, and are pretty much the paradigm (or at least I like to think so) of Los Angeles/California/Beach music. They're most recent album, Over and Over, is incredible, and has been played more times than almost any other thing on my iTunes.

The 88 (though originally known as The Freeloaders) have a pure sound that hearkens back to the 1960s. I've never had anyone listen to it and not immediately ask who it was that was playing. The vocals, done by Keith Slettedahl, are pure bliss, and the jingly piano with electric guitars sounds just majestic. I really can't get enough of The 88.

They've been featured recently in a Target commercial, on plenty of TV shows (including How I Met Your Mother, and The Hills) and the (quite awful if I don't say so myself) movie, You, Me and Dupree. More recently, they signed with Island Def Jam Records, which isn't the best label in the world, but will allow them to get some more national exposure.

The mp3s I have today are available from their website.

[mp3] The 88 - Sunday Afternoon
[mp3] The 88 - All The Same
[mp3] Elliott Smith (with the 88) - Can't Make A Sound (4/01/03)

And finally, one of my favourite songs: The 88 - Hide Another Mistake (video)

Monday Links

2007-07-30T17:08:00.000-07:00

Because I can't get to everything I love, and I can't get to everything I love first:

Kevin Garnett traded to Boston Celtics(Sports Illustrated)

DeLorean Gets New Life(LA Times)

Toilet Aquarium Produced!(LA Times)

Paul Pena, an early 70s blind guitarist featured on IGIF.(I Guess I'm Floating)

Chad from ECEU memorializes Ingmar Bergman(Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands)

How The Recent Popularity of Indie Rock is Affecting the Record Industry(David Greenwald, via The Rawking Refuses to Stop)

Flight of the Conchords

2007-07-29T18:11:00.000-07:00

Friday night was a great night for me. I went to one of my favourite spots in Los Angeles, up in Runyon Canyon off Mulholland where there's a view of the city that is unbeatable. I hung out with some friends for a couple hours up there, and then drove home. On the way however, I stopped off at Canter's Deli to pick up a Black + White Cookie with some milk. For those of you that live in Los Angeles, you know what I'm talking about. Black + White Cookies are some of the best cookies in the world.

Anyway, I was at Canter's when I see a familiar face waltz in. I guess he wasn't waltzing, but he definitely looked happy. Who was it? None other than Jemaine Clement, half of Flight of the Conchords. He was with some attractive looking girl. The friends that I was with and I ran up to him and immediately applauded him for his wonderful music and hilarious TV Show. We told him to get a cookie, and he told us that was exactly what he was coming for. We talked for a few more minutes, and then we went on our merry way, a lot happier than we came in. He was actually quite an awkward fellow, but nonetheless it was still quite cool to hang out with him, even if for only five minutes.

Here's a clip from a live show that Jemaine and Bret did:

About Me

2007-07-28T16:36:00.000-07:00

Well, with the start of this blog, it might help to know a little about me.

My name is Travis, and I'm originally from Los Angeles, California. I'm 19 years old, and I'm going to be a sophomore at Kenyon College (a small liberal arts deal) in Ohio. I'm hoping to major in American Studies with an emphasis on Pre-Law, and eventually go in to intellectual property law (dealing with copyright law in essence. One reason to promote a legal mp3 blog)

Before College, I went to a public high school in Los Angeles, that has a great music program. There, I developed the skills to play eight different instruments (though I never learned guitar), and music became an integral part of my life.

Welcome to "The Bridges Smell Like Chocolate". I'm here to promote new and old music alike and hopefully I'd like to show those who read this blog some unknown stuff that they'll come to adore. The name of the blog comes from an episode of This American Life, a radio show that I love dearly. In the episode "In The Shadow Of The City", Ira Glass interviews a man from Chicago, where the Bridges Smell Like Chocolate, thanks to a nearby chocolate factory that let out a lot of cocoa particles into the air. Unfortunately, the EPA came in and restricted the flow of the cocoa powder because it was more than the legal amount. In truth, a quite sad story.

Submit
if you are in a band are work for a label and would like to get it featured on this blog, please email me with a link to an .mp3 or a link to myspace and I'll give it a listen. If I like it, (which is probable) I'll be sure to post about it. However, please don't send any attachments (my inbox is full as it is), and I'd like to avoid actually hosting the music myself.

On the other hand, if you work for the record company, and would like me to remove any tracks from my website, please notify me and I'll comply.

To get in touch with me:

AIM: ornbarn
WWW: Friend Me On Facebook
Email: Email Me!
Mail: The Bridges Smell Like Chocolate
c/o: Travis Cook
PO Box 1203
Gambier, OH, 43022

Enjoy!!!

So Jealous

2007-07-27T00:08:00.000-07:00

I'm a little jealous of the talent that Canadian born twins Tegan & Sara have. Although they haven't received quite the hype that they deserve, they're one of the few bands I like that have female singer(s). They're also one of the few bands I like that has more toes in the punk genre than in the indie genre. This past Tuesday they released a new album, "The Con". The LA Times review I read of it can do a lot more justice for it than I can. Needless to say, it's pretty good. I'm still getting through the first few listens, but it definitely is building upon "So Jealous", which was an amazing album, and on which I adore every single song. So far, I think my favourite song is "Knife Going In". The T&S website doesn't have any legally available tracks that I can give you, but go out and buy "The Con", and check out Tegan & Sara's myspace, however, here's a track from "So Jealous", and it's one of my favourites.

[mp3] Speak Slow - Tegan & Sara (via their website)

Wendy House

2007-07-26T16:54:00.000-07:00

Team Turnip is one of those bands that no one has heard of. This is really quite unfortunate, as Russell Kostulin, the one and only member of Team Turnip plays the guitar (and other instruments) quite wonderfully. The recordings on his Myspace have all been done at home with a drum machine (unfortunate), however he's in the process of getting his tracks mastered, and creating a demo CD in order to try and get a deal with a record company.

He classifies his music as "sour-pop", which is power pop, but with a Scottish tinge. However, I believe he could classify himself with the likes of Belle & Sebastian, the Magic Numbers, and Aberfeldy (although he is missing the token female backup singers) He's a member of the Wendy House Collective, which include bands Finniston, Attic Lights, and Evan Crichton.

Two songs that he's written are absolutely fabulous. Both "Photos of the Staff" and "Wendy House" are beautiful songs that I've listened to (get ready!) 330 times on iTunes (believe me, it keeps track). Although that figure is sort of dismal, the songs are really worth listening to.

[mp3]Wendy House - Team Turnip

[mp3]Photos of the Staff - Team Turnip (missing the drum tracks unfortunately. You can still hear the ideas inside this tune. You can find the version with drums on Team Turnip's myspace)

Death and Taxes

2007-07-25T22:02:00.000-07:00

It's funny how much we care about death. So many artists write songs about death, or in a depressed state, and yet they continue to earn money, not that money is the key to happiness; it's not. Artists who die unexpectedly develop somewhat of a cult following, whether or not they had it before. And yet, a surprising amount of artists have died way before they were supposed to: Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley, Elliott Smith, Lynyrd Skynyrd, I figured I'd spend some time to write about some of my favourite songs, which, for some reason or another all manage to deal with death in some way. Obviously, some of us may have heard of these songs before, but listen to them before you die, ok?

There is so much of an aura surrounding death, it's quite uncanny. People are afraid of it, dearly, and yet some people are ready for it to come. Some people are so depressed they commit suicide. Others die tragically, when they least expect to. Many musicians spend songs, albums, and entire careers to the mystery of the subject, so let's start looking at a couple of these songs...

"Funeral Music", which is also the title of Seely's most recent and only solo album, is probably the most upbeat song on the album, and it's also the best one. Seely's career is one of disappointment: signed to Capitol Records with his band the Actual Tigers, they released one album in 2001, Gravelled & Green. Although the album is quite incredible, it was marketed poorly, and when the Tigers didn't make any money, the contract ended . Seely retreated to Mississippi (although he hails from Seattle), and spent months with producer Dennis Herring (who also produced Modest Mouse), and eventually emerged with Funeral Music. (Do you notice any resemblance to Sam Beam and/or Zach Galafinakis?)

[myspace]Funeral Music - Tim Seely (stream the entire album here)

Eels, (which is, essentially, Mark Oliver Everett) came up with quite an outstanding album, Electro-Shock Blues, despite all that he was experiencing. Many of his friends died, his sister committed suicide, and his mother was diagnosed with cancer. All of this trauma that he was dealing with lead to the major themes on this entire album, suicide, death, and cancer. Give it a listen and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Last Stop: This Town - Eels

I think we all know Elliott's story. It's one of my favourite songs, (but I love all of them), and it's ironic how poignant it is being one of the first songs he played at his live performances, yet, released on an album after his death. I know, despite the sadness, I can smile while listening to it, knowing that I'm just listening to Elliott.

The Last Hour - Elliott Smith (video from YouTube)

Duke Special really really is special. He's a crazy from Ireland, but that doesn't mean his music isn't any good. This song starts out with some orchestra arrangements a la The Beatles and then moves to an upbeat piano figure, a la The Four Tops and "I Can't Help Myself" (what a wonderful song!). On the other hand, the Irish flavour is definitely still apparent. He sings in a distinct Belfast accent, which is quite rare actually - often singing transcends accents, but this doesn't seem to be the case here. For those who like they what they hear, Duke Special has set up a website where you can sign up for their mailing list, and in exchange get five rare tracks/B Sides, and they're all really good ("Feet in the Sky" is especially recommended).

[mp3]"Last Night I Nearly Died" - Duke Special (via SXSW website)

Can I tell you how excited I am about The Shepard's Dog? Well, Sam Beam has been making great music for years, and although it's, for the most part, happy (though indie low-fi folk, "stuff"), one of my favourite songs by Iron & Wine is all about death. "Sodom, South Georgia". Here's a live version I found of Iron & Wine (Sam Beam) performing at Messiah College (which I've never heard of actually) in Pennsylvania.

For a first post, this wasn't half terrible. I guarantee most posts will be much shorter than this, but should contain many lovely songs, and a lot of lovely information, and I'm definitely looking excited to share.